The DREAM Program, Putnam Gardens, December 2012

The DREAM Program, Inc. 41 Dearborn St. Roxbury, MA 02119 (617) 699-8408 www.dreamprogram.org

January 15, 2013

The Putnam Gardens DREAM Update December 2012 A great Fall Semester full of growth and excitement wrapped up this month as the mentors began their final exams.

Culminating Experience:  12/8 (9 mentees, 9 mentors, 3 other youth): Matches spent the afternoon baking and cooking dishes in the kitchens in mentee’s apartments and in the dorms at Harvard in preparation for the group potluck dinner that night. There was a wide variety of dishes including chocolate covered bananas, meatballs, pizza, and potato latkes. Everyone had a blast playing “red light, green light”, celebrating a great fall of DREAM activities, and trying all the different food. You can see pictures of the event at: http://dreamprogram.smugmug.com/BostonLocalPrograms/Putnam-GardensHarvard.

Program Development:  Adding another mentor to the program: The group added one more mentor this month bring the total of new mentors brought on this fall to four.  Mentor excitement about DREAM: After the last mentor meeting of the semester one of the mentors emailed out to the group expressing her excitement for the work they are doing. It is great to see such passion and energy from the mentor group.

“I just want to let you guys know how much fun I've had with all of you this fall. I don't think I can possibly express how much I love DREAM and how excited I am for next semester. I feel like all of us are invested in the program in a remarkable way and I have a feeling that things are going to take off for us.”  Academic Release Waivers: Academic release waivers were distributed to parents and collected in preparation for the DREAM Office’s effort to establish better connections with the schools our mentees attend. We hope that this will enable us to better assist DREAM youth in school and connect them academic support resources as needed.

Community Collaboration:  College Fest: I attended College Fest, put on by Madison Park Development Corporation at Hibernian Hall on January 12th. I was able to connect with college assistance agencies that will be able to help DREAM mentees as they get older and are pursuing a college education.

DREAM Office:  Youth and Family Surveys: During December we continued administering surveys to youth and parents of participants in our school year program. This is our first time surveying participants of our Boston area based programs and we are excited to analyze the results.  Teen Employment Guide: This month we started working on compiling teen employment resources for a guide that will distributed to DREAM teens this spring. Additionally we are surveying DREAM teens to better understand their awareness of employment options and see what types of jobs they are interested in.  Summer Resources Guide: The DREAM office also began working on a summer resource guide for DREAM families. This guide will be distributed to families this spring and will include information on free summer camps, free events throughout the Boston area, and additional resources.  Domestic Violence Training: I attended a domestic Violence Training run by Trinity Management at Orchard Gardens on January 3rd. It was an informative training that provided me with information that I will be able to bring back other DREAM staff and mentors.  Gang Prevention Workshop: On January 4th & 5th I took part in a Gang Prevention Workshop at the Corcoran-Jennison Harborpoint Conference Center put on by the Dorchester Coalition for Safe Neighborhoods. The two-day workshop helped keep me informed of the current state of gangs in the Boston area and how to continue DREAM’s work in gang prevention.  Annual Appeals: DREAM is in the midst of both its Annual and Alumni Appeals. It is an exciting time of year when we reach out to our supporters and invite them to contribute to help support the great work we are doing.

Keep DREAMing!

Chad Butt Program Director